Paws, claws and market flaws: A tail of walkies through the UK veterinary sector

Abstract

There are few market investigations that have captured the public’s attention quite like the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) inquiry into veterinary services for household pets. After attracting over 56,000 responses from pet owners and industry participants during the initial review phase, the CMA Inquiry Group has proceeded to engage a wide variety of stakeholders, each with their own experiences and expectations of how the market is and should be functioning. The investigation has probed a number of market features suspected of contributing to adverse effects on competition – both on the supply and demand sides. From this, interesting debates have emerged within (and outwith) the profession, building to a crescendo moment in October 2025, as the CMA published its provisional decision and remedy proposals. 

This seminar charts the research journey of an ongoing project into UK veterinary markets, which Dave has been undertaking with his co-investigator (Dr Scott Summers, UEA). It reflects on how the project came to fruition through an initial interest in merger activity (and enforcement) within the industry, and why recent changes to UK merger policy stand to place even more significance on the findings of the CMA’s investigation. The session will highlight some of the prevailing themes emerging from their engagement with stakeholder views, including pet owner vulnerability (especially regional variations), the implications of corporate consolidation and private equity involvement in the industry, and what the CMA’s provisional findings could spell for the future of the market. 

Hosted by the Business and Law research group

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